Oil bath air cleaner construction



July 11, 1950 .LHAMMA-N on. BATH AIR CLEANER GQNSTRUCTION Filed Ma y 16, 1949 I '11: mm

LYLE J HAMMAN /7 ATTORNEYS FIEF H Patented July 11, 1950 UNITED STATES AENT; OFFICE 2,514,543 I v j OIL BATH AIR CLEANER CONSTRUCTION Lyle J. Hamman, Eaton Rapids,iMich., assignor to Eaton Stamping Company, Eaton Rapids, Mich, a corporation of Michigan 1 3 Application May 16, 194,3, .Serial No. 93,459

are employed to clean the air supply to internal combustion engines, compressors and the like and more particularly to air cleaners of the liquid bath type; v

In general, air cleaners of the above type comprise a cup-like casing for holding a body of oil or other liquid to constitute the liquid bath. This liquid bath is employed in association with a filter unit supported upon the casing above the liquid level, the construction and arrangement beingsuch that the air to be cleaned is constrained to come into contact with the liquid in its, passage through the interior of the casing. This liquid serves not only to clean the filter but also to collect solid impurities in the air by contact of the airlwith the liquid. It is an essential requirement of these air cleaners that the liquid should be maintained at a predetermined high level or should not fall below a predetermined low level and further, that these levels should be correctly located relatively to the bottom of the filter unit when in position upon the casing. While in the known air cleaner constructions provision is made for securing the filter unit upon the easing, these constructions do not permit observance of whether the filter unit is correctly located with regard to'the predetermined liquid levels, becomes a matter of chance, therefore, whether the filter 'unit is'correctly positioned within the casing. On the other hand itis well recognized that the introduction of solid impurities with the air supply to internal combustion engines gives rise to serious trouble, and that if the air cleaners employed are to be of any use at all, it is essential that the filter unit and the liquid bath should be correctly located, or maintained, relatively to one another. 1

It, therefore, becomes an object of the invention, in an air-cleaner of the above described type, to provide an improved construction of the easing, which permits the filter unit to be supported and located at a proper and definite position relatively to the predetermined high and low liquid levels and which, in particular, permits this location to. be readily discerned from outside the container.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear clear from a consideration of the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings and from the annexed claims.

In the drawings,

.Fig. I is a vertical section through an air Claims. (Cl. 18315) cleaner construction in part.

2 accordance with the invention, I

Fig. II is a vertical section of the one-piece body structure provided by the invention and made from a light transmitting plastic material, and

Fig. III is a plan view of Fig II. Referringtothe drawings, I!) indicates a cuplike liquid supportingbody, l2 ,abottom duct part by which thefilter apparatuses a whole is capable of being mounted in operative association withrespect to the air intakeof an internal combustion .jengine, I l a top cover part or lid cover and 16. the air filter unit.

The body I0 is conveniently molded in one piece from light transmitting plastic material to providea central axial air flow tube l3 open at its opposite ends and. connected atv its lower portion with the adjacent interior surface of the body, I0 by integral radial webs or. partitions 28 which define a series of separate liquid retaining pockets 22 at the bottom of the body This body part is intended to hold a body of oil or suitable liquid, which is filled to a .high level in the body and has a permissible low level therein,both such levels being indicated in Fig. I.

The central air flow tube l8 serves for the telescopic mounting of the filter unit I6, formed by a cylindrical outer shell 24 having an annular base 25 with a circular series of perforations 28 and an annular cover plate 38 with a circular series of perforations 32, the annular space defined between the plates being filled with a suitable air filtering body 34. v

The bottom plate 26 is formed around its inner periphery with an upturned flange 36 while per open end of the body 10, the general direction of .the air flow being indicated by the arrows in Fig. I.

As will be observedfrom consideration of Figs. I and II, the upper edges of" the radial webs 28 are each formed with recess 46, the bottom of which extends below'the permissible low liquid level but, the top of which'recess, at the outer side thereof, terminates in a ledge 48 disposed at substantially the high liquid level and in immediate proximity to the shell 24, which is located on this ledge as indicated at 50 in Fig. I.

The lid !4, on the other hand, has its fiared bottom 44 joined with the top of the lid by an annular ledge 52 which is positioned in immediate proximity to the upper end of the shell 24.

The lid l4, the top of which is shown formed with radial strengthening ribs 54, has a central opening 56 through which the upper screwthreaded end 58 of a rod 60 extends and-receives a tightening nut 62, this rod passing axially through the center of the tube l8 and being retained against the outside of the duct I! by the engagement of the head 64 at the lower end of the rod. The construction has the advantage that when the nut 62 is tightened, the-pressure is applied through the annular lid ledge 52 axially upon the shell l6 and in immediate opposition to the ledge 48, whereby tube I8 is relieved of all strain and the filter unit as a whole is firmly and positively located in its desired operating position.

The radial webs 20 have the advantage that the liquid space at the bottom of the body I is subdivided into a series of separatepockets in .which the liquid is constrained against slopping-over under conditions of tilt, i. e. when the filter apparatus as a whole is subjected to tilting in use. Further, by locating the bottoms of the recesses 46 in proximity to, or below, the low liquid level it is ensured that the combined liquid levels, merge into a common level in the normal upright position of the filter apparatus. The bottoms of these recesses, in effect, constitute intercommunicating outlets between the separate liquid pockets 22, and might well take the form of holes in the webs, except that these .are not so convenient to form, bearing in mind that the body is to be molded in one piece from a light transmitting plastic material to yield the advantage that it is possible to see into the interio of the body.. Thereby, the important result is obtained, that a person assembling the filter unit uponthe casing is able to see that the bottom of the filter is firmly seated upon the ledges 48 and thus leaves the filter unit correctly positioned relatively to the predetermined liquid levels.

Having thus described my invention in practical application but without limitation to the precise details of instruction thereof involved, what I claim as novel and wish to secure by Letters Patent is as follows:

1. In a down-flow air. filter, a. molded, plastic hollow casing structure open at the. top and having an integral air outlet opening at its lower end, supporting structurewithinsaid body structure, integral therewith, and defining an annular ledge surface, an. air-flow tube upstanding around the opening, a. filter unit mounted within said casing around. said tube, said filter unit including. a. casing defining a down-flow air space between itself and the interior of said body structure and constraining-the air fiow to pass throughthe filter unit in its passage. to said outlet opening, said casing havingseating engagement at. its one end.- with said annular ledge surface, and a lid closure for said open top end of the casingv structure and. including a companion ledge surface to saidannula ledge surface, said closure. defining an annular. air inflow opening into saiddown-fiow air space and having its ledge surface. in endwise pressure applying relationship to said filter unit casing,

.4 whereby to hold the latter located against the ledge surface on said supporting structure.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1, said hollow casing structure having a central tubular portion defining a down-flow air passage, said filter unit being of annular formation and guided about said tubular portion, and a series of webs or partitions in the bottom portion of said casing structure and integral therewith defining separate liquid retaining pockets beneath said filter unit.

3'. A body structure for an air cleaner, said structure being adapted to support a body of liquid in'its bottom portion, a down-flow air tube extending upwardly from the bottom of said body structure, and substantially radial Webs in the lower portion of said structure defining separate retaining pockets for said liquid, said entire body structure being formed in one piece from a light transmitting material which enables the interior of the. structure, and hence the liquid, to be viewed from the outside.

4. A body structure for an air cleaner of the down-flow type, said structure having a cup portion in its lower part adapted to support a body of liquid, and a down-flow air tube extending upwardly from the bottom of the cup portion of said body structure, said entire body structure being formed in one piece from a transparent material which enables the interior of the structure to be viewed from the outside.

5,. A unitary body structure for an air cleaner formed in one piece from a transparent material which enables the interior of the structure to be viewed from the outside, said body structure having a cup portion in itslower part adapted to receive and hold a body of liquid and being provided with a down-flow air tube extending upwardly from the bottom of said cup portion, and said body structure having spaced apart webs on the inner wallof the cup portion extending substantially radially inwardly toward the air tube.

6. A unitary body structure for an air cleaner, said structure having-a cup portion in the lower part. thereof and being provided with a downnew air tube extending upwardly substantially centrally from the bottom: of" the cup portion, said body structure being of transparent material through which the interior can be viewed and being provided with a liquid level marking thereon, and said body structure'being provided with a series of spaced upright webs on the inner wall of the cup portion extending inwardly from the wall of the cup and havingsupporting ledge portions substantially at the upper liquid level. V

7. A unitary body structure for an air cleaner consisting of an upright substantially cylindrical transparent portion having a liquid containing cup portion in its lower part adapted to hold a body of liquid and. provided with a down-flow air tube extending substantially axially upwardly from the bottom of the cup portion, said body structure on the cup portion thereof having a liquid level marking visible from the outside and being provided inwardly with a spaced apart series of upright webs on the wall of, the cup portion extending inwardly from the wall of the cup toward the air now tube and having supporting ledge portions substantially at the liquid level with the upper portions of the webs above the ledge portions presented as filter unit centering ribs.

8. In an air cleaner adapted for use to clean air at the intake of an internal'combustion engine and the like, a unitary body structure of molded transparent plastic material which enables the interior of the structure to be viewed from the outside, said body structure having a cup portion in the lower part thereof adapted to receive and hold a body of liquid and being provided with an upstanding annular wall having an open upper end, said body being provided with a liquid level marking on the cup portion and said body structure having an annularly spaced apart series of radially disposed Webs on the inner wall of the cup portion and extending upwardly on the annular wall, said webs having supporting ledge portions above the liquid level marking, an air filter unit having an outer shell spaced from the annular wall resting at its lower end on the ledges and thus elevated above the liquid level and said shell and filter unit rising above the open top end of the body, and a cover supported on the upper end of the shell and provided with a flared skirt IPOItlOIl overhanging and spaced above the open upper end of the body.

9. In an air cleaner, a hollow body structure adapted to support a body of oil or other suitable liquid in the bottom thereof, a filter unit, means supporting said filter unit upon said body structure in air flow constraining relation and above said liquid, and a series of webs or partitions in said body extending radially inwardly from the outer wall and subdividing the bottom liquid space therein into a series of separate liquid retaining pockets, said webs or partitions including surfaces locating the bottom of said filter unit at a predetermined level in said body structure corresponding to a required liquid level, said webs or partitions having recesses in their u per edges with the bottoms of the recesses situated in the vicinity of the permissible low liquid level and the recesses terminating at the top in ledges upon which the bottom of said filter unit is capable of being located and supported.

10. In an air cleaner, the combination of a unitary molded plastic hollow body part having an open upper end and having an air flow tube upstanding in its middle, supporting structure integral with said body part and including a ledge surface, a removabl lid closure for the upper end of the body part, a filter unit including an outer shell casing adapted for engagement with said ledge surface, and means extending through the air flow tube adapted to secure said lid closure upon the body part in endwise pressure applying relationship to said shell casing with the casing held engaged against said ledge surface.

LYLE J. HAMMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 780,682 Posch Jan. 24, 1905 1,005,386 Whiting Oct. 10, 1911 1,091,695 Nolden Mar. 31, 1914 1,922,688v Kamrath Aug. 15, 1933 2,126,643 Kamrath Aug. 9, 1938 2,183,616 Korte Dec. 19, 1939 2,236,273 Nash Mar. 25, 1941 

